I’ve been poling for over 3 yrs and generally skirt that upper-intermediate line, dabbling in more advanced tricks like twisted sister & Ayesha, but still with plenty of work to do in lower-level moves. Although I haven’t been diagnosed w hEDS or anything formal (yet), I’m learning that my body is somewhat hypermobile. Along with that, I’ve got a total noodle torso, with insanely knotted stress-posture traps and very little natural engagement of my mid-back muscles, which I get the impression are pretty weak compared to the rest of me.
Shoulder mounts are my absolute ENEMY, and although I’ve done them successfully before, they often regress to the point that I’m almost in tears in the inter/advanced class at my pole studio. I can do negatives, hangs, crunches, etc., but when it gets to keeping my back from rounding and getting my big ol’ bum to go UP past just about the perpendicular-to-pole point, I am STRUGGLING. I’ve considered just leveling down bc they are really a prerequisite move, but I’m able to safely and successfully access a lot of the other stuff in class, and was essentially placed in this class by my instructors to begin with.
Does anyone have some good evidence-based resources to share about how to train shoulder mounts w this sort of hypermobile profile? I’m totally open to off-the-pole training, other regressions, or even just helpful cues. I’ve gotten some advice already from folks at the studio, but feel like I need to hear from someone who knows about hypermobile bodies specifically. Apologies if this is duplicating any previous posts! I’m still learning this platform.
TL;DR how do knotty-shouldered, noodly mid-back polers achieve a strong shoulder mount?
